The Problem with Folder-Based Organization
Most organizations organize documents the way they organize physical filing cabinets: a hierarchy of folders. /Client-A/Contracts/, /Client-A/Correspondence/, /Client-B/Contracts/. This works when you have a few hundred documents and everyone remembers the structure. It fails when:
- A document relates to multiple categories. Does the contract between Client A and Supplier B go in /Client-A/Contracts/ or /Suppliers/Supplier-B/?
- Someone new needs to find a document but does not know which folder the original author chose.
- The folder structure grows organically over years, with different people making different organizational choices.
- You need to find all documents related to a specific entity, event, or topic — regardless of where they were filed.
The Entity-Linked Approach
Instead of organizing documents primarily by folder path, organize them by what they are about:
- Store documents on a local drive or NAS — the files themselves stay on hardware you control.
- Create a database record for each document — title, type, date, parties, summary, and the file path on your local storage.
- Link each document to the entities it concerns — a contract is linked to the signing parties; a board minute is linked to the company and the directors present; a financial statement is linked to the reporting entity.
- Link documents to events on a timeline — the contract signing is an event; the document is evidence of that event.
With this approach, finding documents becomes a database query: "show me all documents related to Entity X" or "show me all contracts signed in 2025" or "show me all documents linked to this specific transaction." The physical file location becomes secondary — the database tells you where the file is.
Why Local Storage Matters
Cloud document storage services (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box) are convenient for collaboration on non-sensitive materials. They are inappropriate for:
- Legal documents — contracts, settlement agreements, privileged communications.
- Financial records — investment statements, tax filings, cap tables, LP reports.
- Due diligence work product — investigation findings, risk assessments, target company analyses.
- Strategic documents — board presentations, strategic plans, competitive assessments.
- Personal wealth records — trust deeds, estate plans, asset schedules.
These documents should reside on storage that you physically control: a local server, a NAS in your office, or the local drive of a dedicated machine. Remote access is handled through your VPN, not through a cloud service's public endpoint.
Implementation with ONS Data Terminal
ONS Data Terminal provides document management linked to the entity database. Documents are stored on your local filesystem. Each document record in the database includes metadata (type, date, parties, description) and links to the entities and events it concerns. The document index is searchable. Because the database is local PostgreSQL, you can run custom queries: find all documents related to entities in a particular jurisdiction, or all contracts expiring within the next six months, or all documents associated with a particular person across all entities.
This approach combines the reliability and control of local file storage with the findability and relationship-linking of a structured database — without any cloud dependency.